Au revoir Londres

The final day took us on an eclectic tour of some London districts which couldn't be more different in personality. The first stop: the thriving sub-culture of Camden Town where the streets are populated with punks and goths and the streets are lined with tattoo parlours, thrift stores and shops selling shisha pipes. 

My friend tasted her first meal of fish and chips at Poppies, a pleasingly retro diner which has apparently been voted the best in the UK. Be that as it may, but I think nothing beats fish & chips mingled with salty sea air on a blustery beach on the UK coastline :) 

After a brief and unremarkable stop-off at Abbey Road, the famous recording studio whose pedestrian crossing lent itself to the iconic Beatles' album cover, we made a swift return to 221b Baker Street. I don't think our attempt was quite as impressive... 

Yeah...

The Sherlock Holmes Museum was great! It's about £6.00 for a ticket and once inside, you explore 8 rooms which have been re-created from Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle's descriptions of the detective lad pad. For real Sherlock fans, they are filled with objects from the stories, cameos, knick-nacks and upstairs are uncanny wax-models of characters from the books.

My favourite part was the deer-stalker hats, the bowler hats, the pipes and the magnifying glasses that are hidden around so that you can pretend to be Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes in every room. 

 

Leave a message for Sherlock Holmes!

That concludes the London adventure, I hope you've enjoyed it. 

My next post will be back in Paris :)

À Bientôt !

x

Scandinavia, Sailing & Sweet Treats

After our very serious study of Pixar art (!) which I spoke about in this post, it was time to fill up on some comforting & warm finnish food at the Institut Finlandais. It's just round the corner from the Sorbonne, but I think that it's one of the Latin Quarter's best kept secrets. It looked like in-the-know students had brought laptops in for studying and the atmosphere was fresh and airy. 

Both myself & my sister got the soup of the day which was the perfect blend of smooth, wholesome &  sweet-smelling apples and parsnips - making my head happy with the knowledge that I was checking off 2 of my 5 a day, and my belly very happy, knowing it was in for such a warming treat. The soup was served with warm rye bread, not bad for €4.50.

To wash down our food, I chose a cappuccino and my sister got a filter coffee, which was wholly appropriate as apparently Finns are the biggest consumers of coffee in the world! The waitress told us that this type of finnish coffee is only served in two places in Paris, and its special way of roasting the beans gives it a sweet, honey-like taste. Happy smiles all round! 

We could have had a look at the Institute to brush up on our Finnish roots (yes, we do have some Scandi history in the family!) but instead decided to focus on the French sights & sounds to be discovered right under our noses. Off to the Luxembourg Gardens we went!

After larking about in the Jardins & learning that there was no sailing boat hire in the winter, our wanderings under the sparse trees led us to an Angelina, which proved to be a tasty surprise. We shared a hot chocolate to take away, but as if one sweet treat wasn't enough, I had promised to take my sister to a Pâtisserie de Reves after she saw a programme where Michel Roux Jr visited famous French bakeries on the television.

It was hustlin' and bustlin' for Christmas, so we didn't have long to ogle the cakes before someone took our order. We went for the bakery's best-seller, the Paris-Brest and a double chocolate delightfully decadent eclair, filled with ganache and wrapped in a crisp shell. Part of the delight is the packaging and the gift bag which made me feel a million dollars as we strolled home.

More adventures tomorrow!

À Bientôt !

x

Scandinavia, Sailing & Sweet Treats

After our very serious study of Pixar art (!) which I spoke about in this post, it was time to fill up on some comforting & warm finnish food at the Institut Finlandais. It's just round the corner from the Sorbonne, but I think that it's one of the Latin Quarter's best kept secrets. It looked like in-the-know students had brought laptops in for studying and the atmosphere was fresh and airy. 

Both myself & my sister got the soup of the day which was the perfect blend of smooth, wholesome &  sweet-smelling apples and parsnips - making my head happy with the knowledge that I was checking off 2 of my 5 a day, and my belly very happy, knowing it was in for such a warming treat. The soup was served with warm rye bread, not bad for €4.50.

To wash down our food, I chose a cappuccino and my sister got a filter coffee, which was wholly appropriate as apparently Finns are the biggest consumers of coffee in the world! The waitress told us that this type of finnish coffee is only served in two places in Paris, and its special way of roasting the beans gives it a sweet, honey-like taste. Happy smiles all round! 

We could have had a look at the Institute to brush up on our Finnish roots (yes, we do have some Scandi history in the family!) but instead decided to focus on the French sights & sounds to be discovered right under our noses. Off to the Luxembourg Gardens we went!

After larking about in the Jardins & learning that there was no sailing boat hire in the winter, our wanderings under the sparse trees led us to an Angelina, which proved to be a tasty surprise. We shared a hot chocolate to take away, but as if one sweet treat wasn't enough, I had promised to take my sister to a Pâtisserie de Reves after she saw a programme where Michel Roux Jr visited famous French bakeries on the television. 

It was hustlin' and bustlin' for Christmas, so we didn't have long to ogle the cakes before someone took our order. We went for the bakery's best-seller, the Paris-Brest and a double chocolate delightfully decadent eclair, filled with ganache and wrapped in a crisp shell. Part of the delight is the packaging and the gift bag which made me feel a million dollars as we strolled home.

More adventures tomorrow!

À Bientôt !

x